Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated, comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the sequel to 2001's Shrek and the second installment in the Shrek film franchise. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as her zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a swashbuckling cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans. Development began in 2001, and following disagreements with producers, the screenwriters from the first film were replaced with Adamson. The story was inspired by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), and new animation tools were utilized to improve the visual appearance of each character, particularly Puss in Boots. The lead actors also received a significant bump in salary to $10 million, which at the time was among the highest contracts in their respective careers. Shrek 2 premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, and it was released in theatres on May 21, 2004. Met with favorable reviews like its predecessor, the film grossed $919.8 million worldwide. It scored the second-largest, three-day opening weekend in US history and the largest opening for an animated film at the time of its release. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2004 worldwide. Shrek 2 is also DreamWorks Animation's most successful film to date, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Pixar's Toy Story 3 surpassed it in 2010. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, and its associated soundtrack reached the Top 10 on the US Billboard 200. A sequel entitled Shrek the Third was released in 2007. Voice cast *Mike Myers as Shrek *Eddie Murphy as Donkey *Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona *Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots *Rupert Everett as Prince Charming *Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother *Cody Cameron as Pinocchio *Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian *John Clesse as King Harold Trivia *In the Fairy Godmother's factory, some workers are putting potions bottles on a conveyer belt. One of the bottles is marked "Viagra". *Antonio Banderas also provides the Puss in Boots' voice both in the Spanish and Latin America version, and even in Italian. *''Shrek'' is the first DreamWorks Animation film to become a franchise, followed by Madagascar. *Along with Shark Tale, this is the first time since 2000 that DreamWorks Animation releases two animated features in the same year. *Shrek's human form intentionally resembles his voice actor, Mike Myers. *There's a real Cameron Diaz burp during the dinner party scene. *Jennifer Saunders performed all her own singing in the film. *This was the first sequel ever nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. *When Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are leaving for Far, Far Away, Donkey starts singing "Rawhide." Eddie Murphy ad-libbed the version that was put into the film. *This movie can be featured in the Game Boy Advance Video. *When Mongo is hit by the warm milk, his roar is the same roar as the original Japanese Godzilla. *Jennifer Saunders got a voice coach to help her sing for the Fairy Godmother's opening number. *In one draft, Prince Charming was a lot more childish and immature and he frequently threw tantrums. *Shrek's face is so expressive because it has 218 working muscles in it. *John Cleese and Julie Andrews recorded most of their scenes together at the same time, an unusual practice for an animated film. *Originally, the Dragon from the first film was to have a major role, and turn into a Pegasus when Donkey drank the potion. *This is the first film to have a release of over 4,000 theaters in the USA. *The Gingerbread Man's legs have been re-attached with little bands of frosting. *This is the first DreamWorks film to use the new DreamWorks Animation logo. *Over 300 Hewlett Packard workstations were employed in the making of the film. Gallery shrek 2 poster.jpg Category:2004 films Category:Films Category:Animated films Category:Adventure films Category:Comedy films Category:Family films Category:Romance films Category:Shrek Category:Shrek films Category:DreamWorks Animation films Category:Sequel films Category:PG-rated films Category:Theatrical Films Category:Acquired films Category:DreamWorks Pictures films Category:Non-Universal Studios Category:DVD Category:VHS